Heavyweights (1995)

[HappyGilmore]

Heavyweights is a 1995 comedy written by Judd Apatow and Steven Brill (Mighty Ducks fame), and starring Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, as well as Kenan Thompson of All That and Saturday Night Live.

Basically, it's about a fat camp for kids owned by Jerry and Anne, and they sell it to Ben Stiller's overzealous motivational speaker/fitness guru type character.  Basically, it's White Goodman from Dodgeball, only 10 years earlier and yelling at overweight kids.

I'd say it doesn't get much play when people talk about Stiller's best movies, as it's downright hilarious.  Both Stiller and Apatow are now enjoying much success in that whole 'Frat Pack' type of environment and anybody who enjoys those movies should check this out.

[Mr_Vindictive]

I remember liking this film when it originally came out.  I believe I caught it on Disney Channel or such only because I really liked The Ben Stiller Show way back in the early 90s.  At the time of this film I don't believe he had really done very many films.

I had no idea that Apatow had written the script.  I'll have to see about renting it and giving it another watch.

[HappyGilmore]

It was one of his first major roles in a movie.  He had done Reality Bites the year before.

But apparently, according to Wiki, he was in a Spielberg flick in '87 called Empire of the Sun with Christian Bale and John Malkovich.  But he wasn't a major character or anything apparently.

I liked the Ben Stiller Show as well.  Comedy Central showed a few episodes when the dvd's came out.  Good stuff.

I'm probably the only person who thinks he did a good job with The Cable Guy, but that's another thread.

[asimpson2006]

I saw bits and pieces of this movie various times on TV.  I though it was an ok film but that's it.

[Pilgermann]

I've always thought Heavyweights is really funny.  Ben Stiller practically played the same character again in Dodgeball.